Although, type 1 diabetes can happen to any individual, it is much more common in children, adolescents and teenagers (and hence is referred as juvenile diabates).
Type 1 diabetes life expectancy is indeed very difficult to ascertain due to the incomprehensible nature of the ailment and lack of data. On an average, the life expectancy of a person suffering from type 1 diabetes is reduced by 20 years.However, there have been cases wherein people have lived for more than 25 years after the disease was diagnosed, and there are other cases wherein people succumbed to illness within a decade of illness.Of course, many factors come into play when you try to calculate the average type 1 diabetes life expectancy.
Researchers believe that the life expectancy of type 1 diabetes, to a great extent, depends on the age at which the ailment is diagnosed. Some studies reveal that the life expectancy of someone with type 1 diabetes which was diagnosed after the age of 15 is far less, compared to that of someone whose ailment was diagnosed before the age of 15. This supports the fact that earlier the ailment is diagnosed, better are the chances of living a long life.
"Type 1 Diabetes Life Expectancy." Buzzle.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Nov. 2010. <http://www.buzzle.com/articles/type-1-diabetes-life-expectancy.html>.